Thankful
by Dark Dream Angel
Summary: <html><head></head>Inuyasha had a tough life, but now he's got something to be thankful for.</html>


**A/N: **_**Haha here's the first of the happy-sappy-lovey-dovey stuff I promised you! **_

_***Important!*: Anyway, I just wanted to let all my readers know that this is a lengthy one-shot, (And yes, I admit, a little boring at first) so if you want to skip most of the beginning, please feel free to do so because towards the end is where most of the Inu/Kag interaction comes in. The beginning is mostly my interpretation of what Inu went through as a child and a young adult, but I kind of tried to make it sound like he's reflecting on his past without actually having put it in his POV. Well, there's nothing else for me to add, except, I hope you enjoy! :)**_

**Disclaimer: **_**I don't own Inuyasha, but oh, how I wish I did! ;)**_

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><p>Being a hanyou was not easy. Hell, most of the time he'd wished he didn't even since he was a small child, InuYasha knew he was saw his claws and compared them to other childrens' blunt fingernails. His hair was silver and not black like his mother' time he saw his reflection, he noticed that his eyes were gold, an unusual of course there were his ears and fangs, and not to mention the fact that he was stronger and much faster than any of the other children in his village.<p>

Those other children often teased him, called him names, and threw things at him. Adults whispered about his mother being a demon's whore and spawning a half-breed. InuYasha hadn't understood what a half-breed was back then, but he learned what it meant meant he would be shunned and hated for being what he was.

At the tender age of six, his mother died, and before he'd even had time to grieve, he was chased from the village, the only home he'd ever known.

Their promises of punishment and even death if he ever came back, had cut him deeply, and scared him half to death. He stayed away, not even having attended his own mother's burial. He felt guilty that he'd been too much of a coward to make a try for it anyway for the woman who'd given him life, love, and raised him. (Really, who could blame him? He was only a pup!)

Those first days of being on his own were the worst. Demons chased him and tried to kill him because he was "just a weak little half-breed." But he ran and managed to hide. After that, he learned to stay high up in the trees to avoid detection, after all, humans couldn't climb too high, and demons could be spotted before they could spot him, giving him a chance to run. He had to learn to be stronger and faster or he would die.

For days after that, InuYasha suffered from hunger. He had to learn to either hunt for himself or scrounge and steal food from small human villages during the night. He taught himself to do both. Living on his own in the forest meant survival of the fittest.

He was thankful that he'd become the fittest.

At the age of eighteen, he knew that he would never be accepted anywhere.

But then he met Kikyo, a powerful priestess, and the protector of the Shikon no Tama. he'd heard stories of the jewel and its power, and even of the priestess herself. The Jewel of Four Souls gave its owner unimaginable power and granted them any wish. Knowing all this, InuYasha set out to acquire it, intending to use it to become a full demon. (I don't remember if its true that he set out to get it or if he and Kikyo met by chance) He was tired of being weak. He was tired of running. And he was tired of not being accepted.

Kikyo was very powerful in her own right, and also very beautiful. And she was ruthless in her attacks on any who tried to steal the jewel, but for some reason, she didn't kill him.(I don't remember why! Can anyone tell me?)

Over time, the two became friends and came to love each other. They both realized that they wanted things that they couldn't have as they were. InuYasha wanted acceptance, which he could have if he was a full demon, but he couldn't have that without the jewel. Kikyo wanted a normal life, with a family of her own, but couldn't have that _with_ the jewel. Kikyo decided that if she gave it to InuYasha, he could wish to be human, and they could stay together and have a normal life.

InuYasha had never thought about being human, but he loved Kikyo, so he would do it for her. But just before they could have their happiness it was wrenched away by Naraku. He managed to trick them into believing that they'd betrayed one another, which caused Kikyo's death, InuYasha's imprisonment, and the disappearance of the Shikon no Tama.

InuYasha had watched with disbelieving eyes as Kikyo had shot him with her arrow and pinned him to a tree. His heart shattered as he saw the anger and hatred in her brown eyes as she shot him. Seeing that had hurt him deeply, and he was thankful for the black nothingness that enveloped him, and he slept.

What seemed like the next second-but was really fifty years-he felt her and opened his eyes to see Kikyo standing before him. He could smell the fear and confusion radiating off of her as a centipede demon crashed through the trees behind her and into the clearing. He smirked at her expression even though he was a bit confused. What the hell was wrong with her? Where was the warrior priestess he knew?

He taunted her a bit, but she got angry when he called her Kikyo and insisting that she wasn't her and yelling at him that her name was ' "Ka-Go-Me!" ' He'd stared at her like she was crazy and then he blinked and _really_ looked at her. She _looked_ like Kikyo, but she _wasn't_ Kikyo. Her scent was softer and sweeter. And her eyes! They were a soft brown and he could practically read her mind just by looking into them, whereas Kikyo's had been like a barrier, preventing everyone from seeing anything.

After she'd released him from the tree and he'd destroyed Mistress Centipede, he'd almost killed her to get the jewel. InuYasha _still_ felt guilty about that. A few days later after he received the Beads of Subjugation, Kagome had broken the jewel and they'd begun their journey to gather all the shards. Along the way, they met new friends and became a sort of family. He was protective of Kagome as she was basically his best friend, but over time their feelings began to change-though neither would admit it.

As it became more apparent to the group of friends, the constant teasing and joking done by the demon-slayer, the perverted monk, and the sneaky fox kit, at his expense was infuriating. He was just thankful that for the most part, Kagome remained oblivious to it all.

***Current Time: Feudal Era***

InuYasha shook his head to clear it as he felt the shift in the air around him, signaling Kagome's arrival. He heard the girl scrabble up the wall and waited, his foot tapping the ground rolled his eyes when her hand appeared and tossed the monstrous yellow backpack out. A few grunts and mumbled curses later, her flushed face came into view and her upper-body hung over the lip of the well.

Panting, she grinned at him-he had to resist the urge to grin back-while he pulled her up the rest of the way. Once he set her on her feet, she dusted herself off and smiled warmly up at her hanyou, her eyes sparkling. His heart did that annoying little flip it always did whenever she looked at him like that.

"Thank you, InuYasha." she said.

A small smile lit his features before he caught himself and scowled at her. He turned his back to her and crouched just enough so that she could climb on. Grabbing her backpack, she took this to mean 'You're welcome' and climbed up. Once she was situated, he rose and glanced back at her.

"Keh. Took you long enough, wench."

Kagome rolled her eyes but smiled; she could swear she saw relief in his golden eyes. He was glad she'd come back. Her arms tightened around his neck and he dashed off.

To her it didn't matter that he was a hanyou. When she was with him, he was happy and his heart felt light. When Kagome's laughter bubbled up from her throat, he glanced at her and smiled. It was thanks to her that he was even able to still smile.

Warm brown eyes met his and she smiled again. His grip on her legs tightened as he pushed himself to go even faster.

InuYasha had never been more thankful for anything in his life than he was for her.

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><p><strong>AN: **_**See what I meant about long and boring? ;P Anyway, let me know what you thought, good or bad. Also, I would like to-shamelessly-promote my new youtube video! ;) I finally learned how to make them! I only have one up so far because they take so long to upload and I have to share a computer with my other siblings. I've only done some for Bleach though because I have almost all the seasons on this computer, but in the future I hope to do some for InuYasha(of course!) and Tokyo Mew Mew. Just search for "Little Miss Rukia" my username is Anastasia690. Thanks for reading!**_


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